Posts share synthetic image of Ukrainian drone attack as real

CLAIM: A photo shows a billboard with a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the word “Stability!” in Russian in front of a giant plume of flames and smoke.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The image is synthetic. It was created using Photoshop and artificial intelligence by an artist from Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine. The artist told The Associated Press that the image is a combined representation of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil depots and Putin’s preordained reelection.

THE FACTS: Amid a new wave of Ukrainian attacks inside Russian territory, including a fire sparked by a drone that fell on an oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, social media users are sharing the image as if it is a photo of an actual event.

In the image, a billboard sits in front of a large, raging fire. The word “Stability!” appears in Russian on the billboard, to the left of a portrait of Putin.